Perl Mongers in Amsterdam, Netherlands

The site is available both in English and Dutch that sends the message that both local and non-local people are welcome.
While the people living in the Netherlands are famous of knowing English very well so the Dutch version isn’t really needed but I think it is a nice courtesy with relatively little investment. On the other hand having an English version too is also very nice as the few other people who don’t yet know Dutch will be able to understand what’s going on. That can bring them many international guests.

On the front page there is information on where and when is the next meeting so people won’t need to search for it and there is a picture taken on one of the meetings that shows the essence of the meetings and the group: People learning from each other. I am often asked suspiciously what are we doing on those Perl Monger meeting. Such a picture is very convincing.

On the meetings page they have links to reports of some of the previous meetings along with pictures. I think such reports both textual and with pictures are very important to show the friendly face of the group. This can encourage more people to attend the meetings.
Unfortunately the most recent report is from January 2, 2007, almost 3 years ago. This is unfortunate as it sends the false message that the group was not active in the last 3 years. I hope they will start to post reports, the slides of the talks, pictures, or links to pictures again.

That’s it for now. I am planning to be in Brussels in February 2010 on FOSDEM. That’s not too far from Amsterdam. If I am lucky I might be able to come over to Amsterdam to a Perl Mongers meeting or even to the Dutch Perl Workshop.

One Response to “Perl Mongers in Amsterdam, Netherlands”

> On the other hand having an English version too is also very nice
> as the few other people who don’t yet know Dutch will be able to
> understand what’s going on. That can bring them many international
> guests.

I can only confirm your thoughts; I’m one of their international guests and I must say I felt at home from the very first moment.

It may have helped that I had met the Amsterdam Perl Mongers before, at a German Perl Workshop (before I moved to the Netherlands in 2004, for professional reasons), but I’m convinced it’s because they really are welcoming foreigners and make them feel at home immediately.

In today’s meeting, or better, tonight’s meeting, I have met another German and it is my impression that he felt the same way, because it was obviously not his first visit.

Their meetings also made for a very surprising encounter: I met there a well-known Perl programmer from the south of Brazil (Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, to be precise – not exactly around the corner!) with whom I had had contact by email over one of my modules, and of whom I hadn’t known he had moved to the Netherlands in the meantime.

That was a truly amazing coincidence!

So I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Amsterdam Perl Mongers wholeheartedly for their warm welcome, not once but always, on this prominent place, because they deserve it!